Jon Flanagan
Jonathan Patrick "Jon" Flanagan (born 1 January 1993) is a professional footballer who played as a full-back for Liverpool until his release in 2018. Liverpool career Having progressed through the Liverpool academy, Flanagan was promoted to the Reserve side in the 2010-11 season. He managed to work his way into the first team by the end of the season, making his debut against Man City on 11 April 2011. The young scouser dedicated his debut to his father Jonathan, who had also played for Liverpool youth team briefly as a youngster. Flanagan also highlighted the importance of Kenny Dalglish, saying "It gives all the young players a boost because we all know that Kenny is looking at us and is willing to give us our chance so that gives us confidence." Flanagan started for the majority of games after this point, racking up a total of seven appearances by the end of the season. On 8 July 2011 Flanagan signed a contract extension with Liverpool. The details of the contract have not been released. Flanagan started Liverpool's first game of the new season at home to Sunderland, however he was deemed to be at fault for Sunderland's equaliser by permitting winger Seb Larsson to get by him too easily. The match finished 1-1. Although he also made a couple of cup appearances for the first team, he spent the bulk of the rest of the season playing for the reserves. He was brought back into first team action on 24 March 2012 at home to Wigan Athletic, coming in for the injured Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson at right back, however the Reds lost the match 2-1. On 10 April 2012, Flanagan started Liverpool's game away to Blackburn, however he struggled against Rovers' winger Junior Hoilett. He was booked early for a poorly timed challenge, and a poor backpass midway through the half led to goalkeeper Alexander Doni bringing down Hoilett for a penalty. Doni was also sent off for the incident. Kenny Dalglish sacrificed Flanagan for substitute keeper Brad Jones who saved the penalty. On 8 November 2012, Flanagan made his first appearance under new manager Brendan Rodgers but was on the losing side in a 1-0 defeat to Anzhi. His next appearance was as a substitute in Liverpool's 2-1 victory over non-League Mansfield Town on 6 January 2013 in the FA Cup. On 14 January 2013, Flanagan suffered a knee injury playing in the U21s match against Southampton, which kept the young defender out of action for three months. He made his comeback in the 2-0 U21s victory over West Brom on 14 April 2013. After an extended period of time based with the U21s, Flanagan was a surprise starter in Liverpool's top-of-the-table clash away to Arsenal on 2 November 2013- his first senior appearance since the January tie with Mansfield. He deputised for Glen Johnson who had taken ill and, although Liverpool disappointed in a 2-0 defeat, Flanagan was widely deemed to have performed well until he was substituted in the 68th minute. On 23 November 2013, Flanagan again played in a big game, starting at left back in the Merseyside Derby and once again having a good game in a 3-3 draw. He retained his place at left back for the coming games. On 15 December 2013, Flanagan scored his first goal for Liverpool, volleying the ball into the net following a cross by Luis Suarez, to put Liverpool 3-0 up in their 5-0 win away at Spurs. Flanagan continued as one of the Reds' first choice full backs for the remainder of the season as the Reds went on to mount a serious title challenge. He won praise for his consistent performances whether at right back or left back. Brendan Rodgers confirmed in March 2014 that Flanagan would be rewarded with a new contract in the summer, and enthused that his re-emergence would save the club a 'fortune' in transfer fees, indicating that there is no longer such a pressing need to sign a new full back. In addition to his defensive prowess, Flanagan also impressed with his forward play. On 30 March 2014, Flanagan produced a Cruyff turn on the left flank to skip past Aaron Lennon, before passing to Philippe Coutinho who proceeded to score Liverpool's third in a 4-0 home win over Spurs. On 6 April 2014, Flanagan was adjudged to have been felled by West Ham 'keeper Adrian in the box, winning the Reds a penalty that Steven Gerrard converted to seal a 2-1 away win over West Ham. Flanagan's form during the season had seen him affectionately dubbed the 'Scouse Cafu' but Reds fans. On 11 May 2014, the last day of the Premier League season, Cafu- who had become intrigued by the talk of Flanagan on Twitter- visited Anfield and presented Flanagan with a signed shirt. Flanagan played the first half of the match as Liverpool beat Newcastle 2-1 to claim second place in the Premier League. In the summer of 2014, it was discovered that Flanagan had a build up of fluid in the knee. This ruled him out for the vast majority of the season. On 29 March 2015, he made a cameo appearance in Steven Gerrard's charity match. However, more problems were discovered shortly after, and the full back underwent corrective surgery, being ruled out until October-January. On 21 May 2015, Flanagan signed a one year extension to his current contract, which was originally set to expire in the summer. On 20 January 2016, Flanagan made his long awaited return to first team action, coming on to a standing ovation from Anfield in a 3-0 win over Exeter. Less than a week later, Flanagan made his first start, playing 110 minutes in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final against Stoke, which the Reds won on penalties. Jurgen Klopp described Flanagan as his man of the match, and said that he was still ready to play on after 110 minutes. On 2 March 2016, Flanagan started in a 3-0 win over Manchester City, and put in a great performance, dominating former Red Raheem Sterling in the first half, causing the winger to be substituted at half time. The was Flanagan's first league appearance in 22 months. On 20 March 2016, Flanagan was given the captain's armband for the Reds away game at Southampton. The Reds went 2-0 up within 22 minutes, but a second half comeback from the Saints gave the Reds a 3-2 defeat. On 15 May 2016, Flanagan made his 50th appearance for the club, in a 1-1 draw at West Brom. Due to his considerable lack of game time after his return from injury, it was confirmed on 5 August 2016 that Flanagan had been loaned out to fellow Premier League side Burnley for the 2016-17 season. After a poor season at Burnley, Flanagan returned to the Liverpool squad ahead of the 2017-18 season. He made his first appearance of the season on 19 September 2017, starting in a 2-0 League Cup defeat at Leicester. On 31 January 2018, Flanagan was sent out on loan to Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season. This came after the full-back was convicted of assaulting his partner earlier in the month. On 8 June 2018, it was confirmed that Flanagan was to be released from the club in the summer, after serving for over a decade. Flanagan made 51 appearances for the club, scoring a single goal, and winning the League Cup. Honours Liverpool *League Cup: 1 (2012) Stats Notes *Aged 17, Flanagan appeared on the Liverpool F.C. official site in the July 2010 edition of an article series called "One to Watch," which outlined five very gifted young players from Liverpool's academy. External links * *Jon Flanagan's profile on liverpoolfc.com * Category:Former Players Category:Defenders